Always the outcast, never the princess
by Toffy
Summary: Since Arthur’s arrival at Worcestershire the year before, nobody could have predicted that an even bigger loser would bless the school with their presence. This is that loser's tale.
1. Bookworm

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

Ok, so I had the idea for this fic after watching Shrek the Third yesterday. I couldn't get it out of my head so I decided to go for it. As you will probably be able to tell when reading this, it is set shortly after the happenings of Shrek the Third. All I can say is I hope you enjoy it and - ARTIE FOREVER! school girl giggle****

Always the outcast, never the princess

**Bookworm**

Since Arthur's arrival at Worcestershire the year before, nobody could have predicted that an even bigger loser would bless the school with their presence, but I suppose they were too busy being big headed jerks to realise that anything is possible, especially in a land where many find their 'happily ever after'…

"Get out of the way Bookworm!" The red haired girl pushed past aggressively with her group of giggling companions _'pack of vicious crocodiles more like'_. The girl who'd been the victim of the girl's wrath shook her head, pushing her gold-rimmed glasses back up her nose and a stray strand of brown hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Bookworm. Ok, she was used to that. Apparently it simply wasn't _natural_ for a girl to like to read. Everybody left her alone and when I say everybody, I mean _everybody_, even down-in-the-mouth Artie didn't seem to know she existed, or at least that he real name wasn't 'Bookworm'.

She couldn't exactly remember when she'd been labelled. She came to the conclusion that it was the second that she'd walked through the massive wooden drawbridge, hiding behind her glasses and clutching onto her books for dear life. Nobody had taken the time to look past her shyness and ask her if she was nervous, to give her a guiding light to follow around the school in those first few tender days.

So they wanted her to be a Bookworm did they? That would fit in with their status quo wouldn't it? Fine. She'd play along with that. At least she wished it had been a conscious decision to spend most of her time hiding in the library and not a seemingly natural drift towards it.

She'd always resigned herself to the fact that some people were simply born to be popular and she just, well, _wasn't_. It hadn't even taken her the entirety of her first year to learn_that_. Books at least didn't care if you were shy. Books didn't look at you as if you were dirt. Books didn't ignore you and trash your feelings.

"Get a grip." She muttered to herself, scowling at her latest book. "Nobody likes a loser, never mind a depressed loser." She shook her head and tucked her knees closer to her, hugging them as if it would help her feel better. Sometimes, no matter how stupid she thought it was afterwards, she wished that the school kids would bully _her_ like they did Arthur. At least that meant they noticed him. At least he existed enough to be bullied. Apparently she didn't even deserve the full extent of their scorn.

She'd hidden in the library instead of going to the assembly. What was the point anyway? Its not like anybody would notice… Perhaps only the teachers and she wasn't exactly sure about that…She'd watched from the window as Arthur walked out the door with the big green guy, the donkey and the… cat in boots? She didn't dare ask.

She heard the rumours though. They spread like wild fire as soon as Arthur had left the assembly hall. Arthur hadn't even left the courtyard before _absolutely_ everyone knew. _'King Artie… Has a good ring to it."_ She smiled slightly, though she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, everyone _was_ more important than her. She shook her head, she really was happy for him honestly. She just wished she had a break coming to her too.

"Good on you Artie… Good on you."

**Ok, so if you're a fan of my other fics, you'll notice that my chapters with this story look shorter than usual, at least they do to me. I think this is because I'm writing more description for this fic. Hmmm. Anyway, please rate and review please! I'd love to hear what you think about Belle ;)**


	2. Belle?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Belle?**

She'd been wrong when she'd wished that the school kids would bully her like they did Arthur. When Arthur left, they'd looked for a new prey and whilst a girl couldn't fit his void in the boys' sports arena, a loser was still a loser and she seemed to be just as good to them.

She found herself hiding in the library once more, her one safe haven, at least it had been for a while. She'd taken her glasses off to at least try and hide who she was, at least for a little while. As soon as she'd heard the door open she'd ducked behind the librarian's desk, crouching down as far as she could, huddling close to her knees and hoping against hope that no one would find her.

"Belle?" Too late. She squinted cautiously, as if her tentative peeking would help her from the bullies, before looking up slowly into the face of the librarian, the one person who knew her name and got nearly as much stick of the students as she did.

"Sorry, I just-" She scrambled to her feet, hastily replacing her glasses and looking around wildly for an explanation she could use.

"Its alright." The old woman interrupted, peering through her dusty half-rimmed glasses. "Just look after the counter for a moment, I have some errands to run." Belle nodded, resisting her bubbling curiosity and her urge to ask what possible errand the woman could need to do in her position. She sighed as the woman left once more, sitting herself down behind the desk and taking her glasses off once more. All alone… again.

She sighed as she began to day dream. She'd found recently that it wasn't a good idea to day dream anymore, it left you vulnerable to bullies when your senses weren't exactly alert. She couldn't help herself today though.

She didn't hear the heavy oak doors open. She didn't even hear the footsteps drawing closer to the desk. She didn't even hear when the young king tried to get her attention, at least not the first time.

"Um, hello?" Arthur called, more loudly this time, waving a hand in front of her face. Belle snapped back to attention.

"Sorry, what?" Belle's eyes were having trouble adjusting and it took her a moment to realise why. She hastily returned her glasses to her face so she could see. "Artie?"

Arthur had first been taken aback by her gormless expression, but after concluding she was daydreaming he'd thought her far away expression quite picturesque actually. Not like a landscape or anything, that would be stupid, but a portrait… For some strange reason he couldn't get the image of the girl's face sprouting flowers and trees out of his head. His train of thought was derailed when he heard his name. She wasn't calling him 'Loser'? He looked into her face, her glasses glinting at him as the noon sunshine that managed to break through the stained glass windows danced across them, making dozens of tiny little rainbows.

"Hi." He replied, momentarily unable to speak coherently. Belle felt even more self-conscious than usual with him staring at her like he was having an epiphany so she cleared her throat gently and quietly asked,

"Can I help you?" She'd considered being so rude as to blatantly ask 'Why in magic's name are you back?' but she'd somehow persuaded her mouth against it. Arthur blinked silently for a moment then somehow managed to regain his composure.

"Um, yeah I was just returning this library book. Its kind of overdue…" He babbled nervously. Belle smiled.

"Suddenly finding out you're a king will do that to you." Arthur chuckled wryly,

"Yeah I guess." Belle nodded as the awkward quiet descended once more. Simply for something to do, she slid the book from its position on the desk, moving it closer to her.

"I'll sort this out for you if you like, the librarian's out on some errands."

"You know how to do that?" Belle shrugged, her air nonchalant, yet still obviously self conscious and reluctant to explain.

"You could say I spend a lot of time here." Arthur nodded. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, even less so where girls were concerned, but _even_ he could tell when not to push a subject further.

"So what's your name? You didn't say before and I'm sorry I don't know, seen as you know mine, but everyone seems to know my name what with everyone making fun and all-" _'Oh God shut up babbling Artie'_ "I'm going to shut up now." He muttered quietly. _'Good boy."_ He scowled at his own conscience at that point.

Belle smiled softly. She turned to face him, before noticing some of the usual bullies come in through the door over his shoulder. _'What the hell are they doing here?'_

"My name's not really that important." She replied hastily, trying to shoo him away without being rude, mainly so she could hide behind the desk again.

Her face obviously showed her panic as Arthur asked her what was wrong. She replied quickly that she was fine, that nothing was wrong and immediately took off her glasses, changing her stance slightly so that she was effectively hiding behind him.

It didn't work.

"Hey Bookworm!" Belle cringed visibly. She couldn't run, there was nowhere to go. She was trapped. She put her glasses back on, she might as well see her tormentors too.

"Bookworm?" Arthur asked in confusion, looking to Belle who now looked ashamed. He felt a pang of compassion for her, he knew the feelings behind_that_ look all too well.

"Please leave me alone." She muttered quietly, her head bowed in anxiety.

"So you've been hiding in here… Can't have that can we?"

"Didn't you hear her? She said leave her alone." Arthur interrupted, his voice sounding far more confident than he felt.

"Oh look who its is guys. King Artie of the losers. How's your kingdom of losers Artie?"

"At least I _am_ a king, which is more than can be said for you." The leader of the gang scowled.

"Its none of your business anyway, we're just going to take Bookworm here for a little walk." The group grinned at Belle maliciously. Belle scrunched her eyes up, trying to imagine herself into a different world, one where this wasn't happening. Oh why couldn't she day dream when she wanted to?

"You won't be." She looked to Arthur, her face plainly saying 'Don't, they'll only pick on you too'.

"Oh yeah and what are you going to do to stop us?" Arthur folded his arms and smiled at them.

"Oh not me, them." He pointed back over his shoulder to his two burly body guards who were standing by the door, each of them at least twice the size of the most imposing boy in the group. Needless to say the group left rather quietly, but not without throwing furious scowls and threatening glances at Belle.

Belle breathed out slowly, releasing a pent up breath that she had no idea she'd been holding.

"You didn't have to do that, but thanks." Arthur smiled.

"Don't mention it." Another awkward silence descended, but Arthur was determined to break it himself this time. "So…" His mouth dried up then so his sentence died out. _'Smooth Artie. Real smooth.'_

Belle looked at him, questioningly, when she wasn't getting any elaboration she tried her best to encourage him despite her shyness.

"So…?"

"So… What is your name then?" Belle wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly to begin with, the nerves were addling her brain.

"Oh? Oh, my name! Its Belle, Belle Penrose." Arthur nodded with a smile and Belle ran a hand up her arm nervously.

"So they pick on you too, huh?" _'Oh you're just fantastic at this aren't you?'_ Belle nodded meekly.

"Yeah." She hung her head in shame once more and Arthur immediately felt guilty for making her feel worse.

"It'll get better you know." Belle smiled wryly.

"I guess, but not everyone's as lucky as you." Arthur didn't immediately know how to reply to that.

"You don't have to believe them you know. As long as you're happy with who you are-"

"That's really going to help me when I'm being thrown into the waste heap again isn't it?" Belle couldn't help herself. She didn't mean to be rude and she didn't know why she was taking out her pain and frustration on Arthur. She supposed it was because he was there. Arthur didn't know what to say, all words seemed futile. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't mean to be angry at you. Its just… Its just…" She couldn't find the words, so she did what she did best.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, before abruptly running from the desk and darting through the library, not taking the door the bullies had, but the back door, not even bothering to swing it shut behind her.

Arthur just stood there, shocked for a moment at how quickly the conversation had deteriorated.

'_Smooth Artie. Real smooth.'_

**Bless. I love awkwardness, don't you? Teehee XD Anyway, please rate and review please! ;)**


	3. Relate

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**  
**

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Relate**

She stared blankly out at the sun casting watery light onto the ocean, the sight would have been beautiful if she wasn't so distracted. Silent tears ran down her face as she hugged her knees tightly. A shadow from her right cooled her arms slightly and caused her to look up.

"Hey." Arthur smiled at her sympathetically. Belle sighed.

"Hey." He sat down without asking, though for once she didn't mind. She just stared out in silence and Arthur did too.

When she'd looked up he'd seen her tears and had somehow felt even worse, if that was physically possible.

"I didn't mean to be so harsh on you back there." She muttered, not even looking at him like she had done before. Arthur shrugged.

"Doesn't matter."

"Yes… Yes it does." Arthur looked at the side of her face. She looked angry again, but this time he knew it wasn't at him, but at herself. "I shouldn't have been so sarcastic when you were trying to be nice."

"Trust me, I've heard worse… Used worse too for that matter." Belle smiled for a moment before it faded again.

"I bet you were glad to get away from here, huh?" She asked quietly, her face frowning slightly. Arthur thought for a moment.

"I was to begin with. Then things went a bit pear shaped, but everything's fine now."

"Lucky you." Belle muttered darkly, though immediately regretted her mouth's betrayal. Arthur looked at her, but said nothing. "What're you doing here Artie?" Arthur was confused.

"I told you, the library book-"

"No not that. Why were you even here before hand? If you were going to be this big flash king, why come here? Why put up with all the snobby kids and the jerks if you had a choice?" Arthur frowned in thought. He didn't want to bore her with details of how he hadn't _exactly_ been meant for the Far Far Away throne, at least not yet.

"I don't know. I didn't have a choice." Belle looked at him incredulously and he knew he was going to have to explain further. "I never knew my mother, my dad left me here as soon as he could." Belle was shocked to say the least.

"But why?" Arthur shrugged.

"I don't know. He just did. I used to think he did it because he couldn't see anything worthwhile in me, now I just don't care. Well I do, just not so much. Its not like I really need him anymore." Belle's eyes held a feeling he couldn't quite place. It looked like admiration, or some kind of respect at least.

"You're stronger than I am." Arthur laughed.

"Are you kidding? You did see how they treated me right? Even as a king they don't care, I'm still a loser to them… Besides, you stood up to them, I didn't."

"I didn't stand up to them, not really."

"You told them to leave you alone, that's a start." Belle sighed at his encouraging words and fell into silence once more. She was beginning to like the silences more now, they didn't feel awkward to her, but Arthur still wasn't too keen on them. Trying to find anything he could to break the silence he redirected Belle's question to her. She took a moment, whether to think or collect herself he couldn't tell.

"I never knew my mother either, she died when I was born."

Arthur felt guilty once more, he seemed to feel that a lot around her. He couldn't stop her from talking though, it seemed as though she needed to, as though he was the first one to _listen_. '_Who knows, maybe I am.'_

"I was always close to my father. So when he sent me away it really hurt. I didn't understand why. All he said was that 'I deserved to go and learn all that people could teach me', I've always been a bit of a bookworm." Arthur opened his mouth to protest but Belle gave him a look that shushed him, a look that simply said, 'it's ok.' "He didn't tell me he was sick. I think he knew I wouldn't have let him send me away if I did. He died. He used most of his money on this place and left a little to me. I guess knowing that he spent the last of his money on me rather than medicine for himself should make me feel special, but it doesn't. It just makes me feel guilty."

Arthur was numb. Here she was, going through the hell he had, having to carry around the knowledge that her father was dead and the feeling that it was her fault. He'd thought it was bad that he didn't know what had happened to his dad, not that he cared too much now, but Belle also didn't have a hope to look forward to like he had. At least he had his kingdom, all she had was a few scraps of money and no family to speak of.

"I'm really sorry." He finally managed to choke out. Belle shrugged.

"Don't be, its not like you can do anything." Silence once more descended on them but this time, Belle felt uncomfortable again.

"Sorry to depress you." Arthur shook his head.

"Actually it was nice to relate to someone." Belle smiled genuinely and Arthur suddenly saw a flash of the pretty girl he'd been confronted with in the library, the one hidden behind the glasses and a shroud of shyness.

Bells chimed throughout the grounds and Belle was knocked into action and out of the now comfortable silence they'd fallen into.

"Sorry, I've got to go; _some_ of us have class to go to." Belle remarked, her apology genuine and stark next to her humour.

"Right, yeah… Yeah I suppose I do have a kingdom to run." They both laughed lightly, though they weren't sure at what. Belle stopped first, looking at him earnestly.

"Take care of yourself Artie." She turned tail to start jogging away, but Arthur called to her, making her stop,

"You too Belle. Oh and, just a thought; you should take your glasses off more often, it suits you better." She smiled coyly, blushing furiously before calling her goodbye and running to her class.

Arthur smiled to himself.

'_Now__**that**__ was smooth.'_

**Bless Artie's cotton socks! Hehe heart-to-hearts rock don't they? Hope I pulled it off anyway :) Anyway, please rate and review please! ;)**


	4. Friend

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**  
**

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Friend**

Since returning to Far Far Away, Arthur had been slightly distracted. It had been a few weeks since then, but his Aunt Lillian had noticed it instantly. Even for a teenager he seemed moodier and more thoughtful than usual.

"What is wrong dear?" Arthur, who had been staring into space for the past ten minutes solid, jumped, replying rather ignorantly with a grunt of,

"Huh?" The former Queen, though she was _still_ called Queen Lillian, smiled at her nephew, politely repeating her question with no lecture on his absentmindedness.

"Nothing." He replied quickly, turning back to a pile of letters on his desk, all to do with royal business or whatever, pretending to be working just to avoid speaking to his Aunt further.

After a few further minutes, (Arthur was beginning to think his Aunt was persisting simply for her own amusement) his Aunt left and Arthur slumped back into his chair, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in thought.

What exactly was wrong with him? He hadn't felt this rubbish since he was still in school. Maybe it was because he wasn't thinking about Guinn anymore. Guinn! He slapped his forehead at the thought. He'd completely forgotten about her! Did that mean he was over her? He couldn't be, could he? He'd loved her hadn't he?

"_Guinn… I've always loved you."_

"_Like, eww-eth."_

Ok, so telling her hadn't exactly happened the way he'd planned, and he hadn't really hoped for that particular reaction, but still. Him? Over her? He shook his head. When had that happened?

He shook his head, looking back at the pile of papers, this time hoping something there would intrigue himself away from his own thoughts. He titled his head, surprised when he saw a letter there, the return address was Worcestershire Academy.

Unable to restrain his curiosity, he picked it up and looked at it. The curly writing that looked slightly shaky had run here and there, dark spots marked the parchment and it took him a moment to realise that they were tear stains. He turned it over, peeling off the unusual blue wax seal and opening the letter.

'Sorry to trouble you like this Artie, but I guess you are the only one I can talk to. I'm tired of getting paper aeroplanes stuck in my hair and notes pinned to my back saying 'you sucketh'. I'm tired of being scared too. I guess I'm just tired.'

Arthur frowned at that. It sounded like she was finding things harder than he thought she was.

'I tried to do as you said… I told you it wouldn't work, didn't I? They threw me into the rubbish heap again just like I said.'

Arthur sighed. He knew he should've kept his mouth shut.

'_I'm not blaming you, honestly, God, please don't think that I am! I'm not going to be so stupid as to blame the only person who knows how this feels for trying to help.'_

Ok, that made him feel better, and a little creeped out that she seemed to know how he thought. _'I guess we have more in common than I thought.'_

'_To be honest, I don't honestly know why I'm writing this letter. I guess its because I just wanted someone to talk to… I've never had that before. Not for a long time at least and definitely not__here_

You're probably busy though. Doing what kings do and things like that. I suppose I should really be doing my homework too.'

Arthur couldn't help but grin at how she wrote. It was so distracted and so… insecure. That thought made him frown, but reading the passage again got him smiling once more. She was so honest, that was clear to see. What he couldn't understand though was why she being honest to him. He supposed that is was because of the fact that they were both awkward outcasts, both had tried fitting in and both had failed miserably. They'd both been picked on and both of them had been hurt by their families.

He was right. They did have a lot more in common than he had thought.

'I really am sorry to have bothered you Artie. Take care and… well just take care.

Belle.'

Her hasty conclusion to the letter confused him slightly, but what surprised him even more was the fact that Belle Penrose, Miss Shyness herself, had, at least not to his knowledge, given a second thought to writing a letter to a practical stranger, well almost stranger. Not to mention the fact that this letter had been hidden amongst the 'royal business' papers. 'I bet Aunt Lillian had something to do with it.'

He re-read her letter again. It made a nice change from all the letters from people fawning over him, it was either that or like when he'd returned his book with people not giving a damn. It was only short, but it was honest, it was simply what it was and it made him smile.

Who cared if it was only, what, twelve lines or so? He saw it as proof.

Proof that he had someone who understood him. Proof that he had a friend and what's more, a friend his age.

Belle Penrose. His newest friend.

**Aww bless him :) Ok, so I suddenly thought, Guinevere! and it gave me the idea for this chapter, plus I thought I'd give Belle a bit of a break... Then did a u-turn and put her letter in, but what the hell, its drama people! Anyway, please rate and review please! **


	5. Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**  
**

**Review replies**

Violet Lily 101: Thank you so much for my first review for this story! I'm really glad you like it so far, I wasn't sure how people would receive it, so I'm really relieved :) I'l keep going and I hope you like this chapter as much as the others.

This chapter is a bit of a paralell to the previous chapter and gives a bit more of an insight into Belle's life now. Hope you like it oh and:

**WARNING**: For this chapter you may need tissues, I got choked up writing it, just thought I should let you know that in case you're often reaching for the kleenex... or any other kind of tissue as advertising laws make me obliged to say. Now, on with the chapter!

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Memories**

Everyone gets bad days right? Well surely you're supposed to get good days too? So why did the good day fairy seem to have forgotten her?

She ran as fast as she could, her hair streaming out behind her like some sort of brown flag announcing her location. Her heart was pounding and she wad trembling from head to toe. She burst into her room and fumbled with the lock in her panic, tears streaming down her face.

"That's it Bookworm! Hide away!" She heard roaring laughter as she slid down the back of the door, ending in a thud at the bottom as she cradled her knees, gently rocking backwards and forwards as she sobbed.

Once she'd calmed down enough to stop shaking she crawled over to her bed, dragging herself up onto it with the last of her strength and flopped onto it, thrusting her hands under the pillow, sniffling into it as she cuddled and wrung the life out of it.

"I miss you so much dad." She hiccupped into the soft fabric, her tears silent now, as she had no energy left for noise. She reached for the box that sat on her bedside table. It was beautifully decorated and a lot of love had obviously gone into making it, the marbled dark wood contrasted with the lighter embellishments of carved wooden roses and entwining vines and leaves.

She opened the box with now steady hands, lifting the lid gently and setting eyes on the familiar letters there. She smiled, her eyes further filling up with tears as she reached for them, handling them as if they were the most precious things in the world and made of the most delicate glass. She began to unfold them carefully, her face contorted into a smile of remembrance and pain, gazing at the last remnants of her father that she had. She began to sob once more as she read the letters, the words so well read that they seemed burned onto her brain, the words springing up from the recesses of her mind like the lyrics to favourite songs.

"Why did you push me away dad?" She asked quietly, her sobs now becoming ones of utter confusion and despair, the loss of her father seemed so unreal for a few moments that she was spared the guilt that she usually felt. In a spark of clarity of mind she protected the letters from her tears by ever so carefully refolding them and returning them to their wooden haven. She sat there, silently, simply staring at the box as if she could still see the contents inside.

She stared at the ceiling for a moment before climbing off her bed and walking to her desk. She needed to talk to someone and there was only one person in the whole world for her to write to.

'_I'm sorry to trouble you like this Artie. I truly am.'_ She began to cry silently again as she wrote. She wasn't even sure what she was writing made sense, she just had to write, had to talk, had to _do_ something, _say_ something about how she felt.

_'Sorry to trouble you like this Artie, but I guess you are the only one I can talk to. I'm tired of getting paper aeroplanes stuck in my hair and notes pinned to my back saying 'you sucketh'. I'm tired of being scared too. I guess I'm just tired._

_I tried to do as you said… I told you it wouldn't work, didn't I? They threw me into the rubbish heap again just like I said._

_I'm not blaming you, honestly, God, please don't think that I am! I'm not going to be so stupid as to blame the only person who knows how this feels for trying to help._

_To be honest, I don't honestly know why I'm writing this letter. I guess its because I just wanted someone to talk to… I've never had that before. Not for a long time at least and definitely not__here_

_You're probably busy though. Doing what kings do and things like that. I suppose I should really be doing my homework too._

_I really am sorry to have bothered you Artie. Take care and… well just take care._

_Belle.'_

She shook her head as she read her own words. They were the ramblings of a loser and a depressed on at that. Only one thing compelled her to send it. Ok two things. One, was the simple need to speak to someone.

The other? Because the letter was honest, heartfelt and simply what it was…

A cry for help.

**Ok, so this gives a much starker impression doesn't it, compared to the chapter before, at least I think so anyway. Shan't give too much away for the next chapter, but I've already started writing it, I just must go to bed soon as its almost midnight here lol ;) So I shall leave you with my hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and will please review and I hope to update soon:D**


	6. Learning

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

**Review replies**

Rebel of my Destiny: I'm glad you like the story so far and I hope you'll be pleased to know that Belle and her feelings will be described further in later chapters. I've tried to describe Artie better in this chapter as well, like you suggested, but I don't think I've managed to pull it off, but I'll keep trying, so please stick with it! Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy!

Violet Lily 101: Thank you, I think that's the nicest thing I've ever had as a comment! Thank you ever so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others :)

Masterfast: Gee thanks! Please feel free to explain further, even if its dislikes - I like to know what you truly think and love points for improvment so my writing can get better. Thanks for the review and I really hope you enjoy this chapter too :)

Bustedwitch: Thank you for the review and the alert add! I hope you reall enjoy this chapter and I will keep going :)

Ok, I'll warn you now, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I wanted to give you guys something for waiting so patiently and I needed to progress the story - It does get better I promise! The chapter I'd actually written for now is going to be the next chapter, but I'm still tweaking it a bit so stay tuned!

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Learning**

Something was wrong – he could just feel it. He looked about him before pulling the letter out of his pocket and reading it once more. He was slowly becoming obsessed with it and he wasn't entirely sure if he cared about that fact or not. It was becoming a touchstone for him, it was with him wherever he went and he read it when he needed relief from his duties as King.

Shrek had been right, he was learning on the job. He was learning even more hiding techniques (mainly for hiding from the stewards and his demanding personal assistants) as well as fine-tuning his ability to blot out voices he'd rather ignore. He'd known being King would be a difficult job, but the fact that it was his had finally sunk in and he was beginning to feel that he could rise to the challenge, though years of other people's taunts and his own doubts still weighed heavily on his mind.

It was times when these doubts plagued him that he'd return to the letter, Belle's letter, the words so familiar to him now that he was close to knowing them by heart. So often the letter had made him smile, now it just taunted him, with nagging feelings of worry entering his mind. Each time he read it he detected something new, a new tone of panic here, another exhausted and desperate feeling there. He needed to write a reply, but what?

He paced around the massive chamber that was his bedroom, thinking, trying not to bump into things as he read the letter once more. It definitely needed a reply and Belle had waited long enough for one. With determination and resolve not to sound lame and idiotic he sat at his desk and began to write, his brow furrowed in concentration and his blue-grey eyes rarely leaving the parchment set before him.

After running a hand several times through his now thoroughly untidy blonde hair and several screwed up attempts (both in his opinion and then physically) he had finally produced a satisfactory letter. He frowned at it and sighed. He should really practise his handwriting; he'd be surprised if she could even read it, let alone understand it. Oh well, there was nothing for it; all that was left now was to find someone to deliver it.

"You there!" The young man that had been passing the door turned around in surprise.

"Me, your Majesty?" Arthur sized him up, he could be hardly a year younger than the fledgling king, but he was already marginally taller.

"Yes, what's your name?"

"Wentworth sir." Arthur nodded absentmindedly, glad that the pleasantries were over. He had never been renowned for his conversational skills and he was too preoccupied to care about improving them at that moment.

"Wentworth, would you like a bonus?"

"If I'm deserving of it sir."

"Take this letter to Worcestershire Academy. Take it to person addressed here. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you." Arthur made to return to his room, but the young steward called him back, after glancing at the parchment envelope.

"Is there any other message you would like me to deliver to her sir?"

"Her?" Arthur replied, trying to sound nonchalant… And failing miserably.

"Yes sir, Miss… Miss Penrose." Wentworth clarified, checking the envelope for details. Arthur tried to repress the heat rising in his face.

"No, the letter will be fine, thank you." Wentworth nodded, an understanding smile accompanying his nod of respect, before proceeding down the corridor to commence his task.

Arthur wasn't sure he liked that smile, mainly because he didn't quite understand the call for it. He shook his head and sighed as he looked out of his window pensively.

'_Sorry I took so long Belle… Guess I need to learn how to be a friend as well as how to be a king.'_

**Ok, a bit of a pensievely abrupt ending, but I just love cliffy and abrupt endings to chapters ;) Like I said, it does get better, I promise and by that I mean the writing. Hope it wasn't too bad for you not to enjoy it though and please, please, please don't stop reading! I have bigger and better plans for this story, so please stay tuned! Thanks for reading :)**


	7. Mortified

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

**Review replies**

Rebel of my Destiny: Thanks, I've kept going, but I thought I should update before I forgot! Hope you like this chapter ;)

Violet Lily 101: I didn't you could top your last review, but WOW! Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter, which personally I think is better than the last one, but I think its just a personal feeling, I've felt like Belle does in this chapter before, although thank God, I didn't live through a situation like this! Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ok, so this chapter, I personally think, is better than the last one and things are just, well, I'll let you read it and see for yourself. :)

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Mortified**

Ok, now the good day fairy was just taking the mick.

She hadn't just forgotten her; she'd taken a permanent vacation without leaving a stand-in behind.

She would've slipped down in her chair if she weren't sitting on a backless bench. She supposed she could hide under the long table in front of her, but she'd have to leave eventually, no matter how much she wouldn't want to. She tried desperately to pretend the ground would swell beneath her and swallow her whole, that she would become as invisible to them as she was to them once before. She knew it was impossible though. The heat she could feel in her face was enough to cook with and she knew that her face would be, by now, as scarlet as fresh cut beef.

"The common girl got a royal letter!"

"Who'd write to _her_?"

"What makes _her_ so special?"

"Who'd write to the orphan?" _'Oh sure, remind me of that why don't you?'_ Belle thought bitterly, they were just adding further insult to injury now.

She tried her best to blot out the whispers, the catcalls, the down right yelling of comments, all of which were far from decent or nice. Of course the royal trumpets (the after effects of which had been a persistent ringing in her ears) hadn't helped her cause. She had more success with this however, than calming her blushing cheeks, but she still didn't manage the task completely.

"Here everyone, listen to this!"

Just one letter – that's all it was. Just a letter that had been, just moments before, a shining beacon of hope.

Her hope had been snatched away though and all she'd gotten in return was a massive helping of mortification, thrust back into her unwilling and shocked face. They succeeded in their motive – to leave her feeling completely desolate and hopeless.

Surely someone would give her a break? Surely someone would tell them to ease off, to give her at least time to breathe between taunts, between the beatings they were giving her fragile sense of self-worth, which was, second by second of everyday, being eroded away before their eyes.

She didn't know what she was doing. She couldn't pin point when she'd stood up. Nor could she say when she pushed the bully or tore the letter from his hand. She barely registered the bully's shock or the surprise of all those in the dining hall at breakfast before she dashed out of the room, letter in hand.

She ran all the way to her room, fumbling with the lock as she had done just weeks before. She leant against the door, her head resting against the wood as she tried desperately to process what had just taken place.

"Did I-?" She couldn't find the words, she too was stunned. After a moment, the presence of the letter filtered through to her mind. Despite the fact that it had been the cause of major humiliation and the fact that it had been read out loud to the entire school, she could only feel affection towards the letter and, despite how ever much the nature of the delivery of it may have been misguided, gratitude towards its sender.

'_I hope you are all right Belle. Don't give up and don't give in. Just don't give them the satisfaction, please. You know that if anyone knows how you feel right now, its me…'_ Belle's chocolate brown eyes began to well with tears at that point. Right now she was feeling humiliation beyond belief that her privacy had been well and truly disregarded.

'_I know that these words might sound rich, that you might hate me for saying them because I'm not there and I can't help any other way, but you've got to keep telling yourself you're important.'_ She wasn't sure what compelled her to keep reading. He was right, she did _want_ to hate him for saying what felt like pointless words, but she just couldn't. She simply couldn't.

'_Don't let them make you think you're worthless. You're not. You're strong Belle. Stronger than I am and if I can get rewarded for putting up with it then you can too.'_ Belle wanted to laugh sarcastically at that, but again she couldn't. She couldn't treat the words of her only friend with such contempt. But how could she be rewarded? She was only a gentleman's daughter after all. She wasn't the child of a Duke or a Marquis, not even a Baron. As people kept reminding her, she was no better than a _commoner_ compared to most of the students in the school.

'_Remember Belle, you're strong. You're strong and you're important. Ok so, maybe you aren't to them, but you are to me.'_ Belle's eyes widened at the simple paragraph. She re-read it again to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Someone thought she was important?

'_Belle, you're my friend and nothing anybody can say will change that. You are not Belle the 'Bookworm'. You are __Belle__ Penrose__, __my __friend__.'_ Belle smiled through her tears. Her heart felt a bit lighter as she read the final sentence, a slight twinge of sadness that the encouraging words were already at an end.

_'Head up Belle. Take care._

_Artie.'_

Belle was positively beaming. That was until she heard the echoes of raucous laughter from the dining hall and the singsong chants of _'Losers in love! Losers in love!'_ rising into the rafters of the school and resounding through her bedroom, ringing in her ears, reminding her of the royal trumpets blaring and the sinking feeling that followed in the pit of her stomach.

That was it. She wasn't going to class.

She was right before though.

The good day fairy was seriously taking the mick.

**Awww poor Belle, no? Sooo embarrassing and so cruel too!  
**

**Anyway, next chapter will be up soon, I'm putting the finishing touches to it now :) So I hope you enjoyed it and please rate and review and stay tuned for the next installment of: Always the outcast, never the princess ! :D**

**Hehe. Ok, just as a note, I took out the mild swearing in the slang at the beginning and end of this chapter. I'm English and as such, the saying 'taking the mick' is used on a daily basis by myself and my family (though oddly my friends only seem to have heard of the other, coarser version LOL) if you're really interested in what on Earth I'm talking about, google it or type it in on wikipedia. Just a boring bit that would be a DVD extra if this was a film XD**


	8. WHAT?

Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!

**Review replies:**

Rebel of my Destiny: LOL. I tried to explain at the end of the chapter, but I didn't do a very good job did I? Basically, it means to tease someone. In the chapter I basically meant that 'the good day fairy' was teasing Belle by not giving her a good day in like, forever. If that doesn't clear it up then (for once) wikipedia explains it far better than I can:

en./wiki/Takingthemickey

Hope it all makes sense now! Thanks for reading the chapter by the way and I'm really glad you like it!

Violet Lily 101: Aww thanks, I'm glad you liked it, I like to give insight into how exactly the characters get affected :) I'll keep thanking you as long as you review :) I wouldn't say it was sweet, I'm just trying to say how grateful I am, but thank you anyway!

Okies, on with the chapter :)

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**WHAT?!**

"You did what?" Arthur asked, his face contorted with shock and disbelief.

"We delivered the letter personally your Majesty." Wentworth replied, the footmen bowing at their acknowledgment. Arthur cringed.

"You didn't."

"Didn't what sir?"

"The whole-" Arthur made a trumpet like shape with his hands and waggled the fingers on his right to suggest a musician playing.

"Oh yes sir. It is tradition. Should we not have done so sir?" Arthur breathed out slowly, panic evident in his eyes.

"No, but I should've told you not to." He held his head in one hand, the other on his hip as he paced about. _'They will never let her live it down. Oh God Belle I'm __**so**__ sorry.'_ He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. What in magic's name was he going to do?

"Sir?" Wentworth. Poor Wentworth. He looked so confused and he had a right to be, he'd only followed his request after all, how was he supposed to know the trouble it would cause? _'Fine mess this is Artie.'_ Fine, he was just going to have to undo it somehow.

"Please give me a moment gentlemen." The footmen bowed once more and proceeded out of the room to wait in the corridor. Arthur took a few more absentminded paces before sitting at his desk.

"If you please sir, what is it you propose to do?" Wentworth's tone was inquisitive and nervous at the same time, as if he feared for his life… Although he was possibly more concerned about his job, Arthur had never done anything to impose a violent impression on the young steward so he assumed his existence was still assured for now.

"I intend on fixing the mess I have created." Arthur replied absentmindedly, furiously scribbling onto a piece of parchment.

"Mess sir?"

"Yes. I was careless Wentworth and did not explain my request as fully as I should have done." He sighed. "Worcestershire Academy is… It has not been… It is was an unpleasant place for me and it is for Miss Penrose." _'Unpleasant is putting it politely.'_ Wentworth's confused face alerted Arthur to the fact that his curiosity had not been completely satiated, but for now it would have to do, he wouldn't explain further for anything in the world right now. Thus, Wentworth fell silent, unsure whether he should stay or leave and with no indication from the young king as to which he would prefer, he decided that just staying quiet would probably be wisest.

It took Arthur a further half an hour to draft, redraft and then rewrite the second letter, each version furiously edited and subjected to his scrutiny before producing the final article.

"There." Arthur muttered, sealing the letter shut with the royal seal set into scarlet wax.

"Sir?" Arthur stood, giving the letters one last look over, before passing them both to Wentworth.

"Now listen to me carefully, this is what I want you to do,"

Once Arthur had explained all to Wentworth, the young steward nodded briskly.

"Remember, done in a week and twice the fee."

"Yes sir." Wentworth replied eagerly, approaching the door with easy strides. He stopped, his hand on the door handle, "Begging your pardon your majesty,"

"What is it?"

"Your girl sir, she's pretty… in a plain, glasses wearing kind of way." Arthur looked like a startled rabbit.

"My girl?"

"Yes, Miss Penrose, sir." Arthur stuttered.

"Believe me, she's _not_ my girl." Wentworth smiled, nodding, his air innocently disbelieving.

"If you say so sir, if you say so." He left the room before Arthur could stutter anything more.

**Lol. You gotta love denial... If you can call it denial. Bit spooky how they seem to know how each other's doing no? I thought it'd be like that because they're going through the same thing and they're a lot a like, though personally, I think Artie is more outgoing than Belle. Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and please review :) I hope to update soon once I've figured out the kinks in the next chapter :D**


	9. Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

****

**Review replies:**

Rebel of my Destiny: LOL. Thank you for your review, I'm glad you still like the story :) I hope you like this chapter too, I'm just sorry it's taken so long :)

Violet Lily 101: Thank you for the review again :) I'm really sorry I've made you wait so long for this update and I really appreaciate the feedback and support you and the other reviewers give me :) Thank you :D

Ok, I'm really sorry I've taken so long to get this up here, the chapter has been so hard to get the blanace right and I've been so unhappy with it, it's taken longer than I wanted it to. I've also been busy with stuff in my holidays (don't vacations rock? XD ) I've also been addicted to my Sims2 games and my new game Spore (when my dad isn't playing on it stopping me from getting a chance o.0). Anyway, here it is, in all it's glory, which in my opinion isn't a lot of glory, but I felt you guys deserved something and this was the best that I could come up with. I hope it picks up later on, but this is more a joining chapter than anything. Oh well, enough excuses and on with the story :)

Always the outcast, never the princess

**Rescue**

She'd been hauled into the headmaster's office before. It wasn't like she was regularly in trouble, it was just how she was treated by everyone, when they noticed her that is. Lately she'd been avoiding classes when the taunts got too much, she knew she shouldn't, but it was the only option that seemed open to her. Ever since the day Arthur's last letter had arrived school had been unbearable.

To be honest, she vaguely had a clue as to what was going on. She'd been practically pushed into the office and forced into the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk, which she still sat in with the posture of a scorned child. The office was silent now though, the mutterings of people could be heard outside and she rolled her eyes. It wasn't just natural paranoia that told her it was _her_ they were talking about – she'd heard her name several times. She'd resisted the urge to get up and sneak to the door and try and eavesdrop, despite the massive temptation. She glanced over at the door again. Exactly how long had they been out there?

She looked at the note still clutched tightly in her hand. She smoothed out the small creases and folds her quick reactions had made, re-reading the simple words that still plagued her with confusion.

_'Belle,_

_First off, I know, I just know that you must've gone through hell after my letter, but I'll tell you now I'm not going to apologise for that.'_ At first, Belle's indignation had piqued there and she was just about to start mentally ranting about how conceited her new friend had become when she read the next few lines.

_'All I need to say is that… If you want to leave, all you have to do is follow Wentworth and the other men, I've told him what to do either way._

_Hope to see you soon Belle._

_Artie.'_

Belle remembered how confused she had been at that last sentence. _'I hope to see you soon Belle.'_ He wanted her to leave? Was he coming back? What in the name of magic was going on?

Belle was broken out of her reverie by the door opening, the noise of which caused her to instinctively hide the note as best she could at such short notice.

"Miss…" Belle looked up in disdain and disbelief, even the headmaster didn't know her name.

"Miss Penrose, sir." Belle looked at her shoulder, the young man, Wentworth had spoken on her behalf! She looked up at him gratefully.

"Yes, Miss Penrose. It seems there is a call for you in the kingdom of Far Far Away." Belle had no trouble contorting her face into a look of surprise – the already present look of confusion made that a whole lot easier.

"Sir?"

"It seems that his Majesty the King requires your presence."

"Yes, Miss Penrose," Wentworth interrupted, "his instructions were quite… explicit." Belle's confusion returned.

"Instructions?"

"You are to be withdrawn from the Academy and your prepaid tutoring fees shall be returned to you. You are to return to Far Far Away with the," he cleared his throat at this point, "royal escort provided." The Headmaster looked down his nose and through his glasses at her. She knew he saw her as a charity case and nothing more, but the look in his eyes still hurt… However, the look of shock and disbelief on his face that _she_, _Belle Penrose_ was to receive a _royal escort?_ The satisfaction was beyond belief I can tell you.

"Withdrawn from the Academy sir?" The Headmaster nodded, his face grave though Belle couldn't decide whether it was because of the loss of her tutoring fees from the school or for the loss of a pupil, even despite the nobody that said pupil was.

I shan't insult the intelligence of you readers by saying Belle actually thought twice about leaving Worcestershire, as, only an idiot would stay after the torment she'd suffered, but there were still questions that confused her, even though she decided not to voice them. She did what she always did, kept her head down and her mouth shut.

"If that's all sir, Miss Penrose has a long journey ahead of her, that is if the arrangements are agreeable with her." Belle looked at him and Wentworth could only interpret the look as _'You're kidding, right?'_. "I'll take her lack of refusal as a 'yes'." Belle looked to the headmaster seated before her, then up at Wentworth than back to her hands. She was really leaving, it wasn't just a dream.

"Yes of course, I shall have the money sent for immediately." The two men left the office after that, but Belle just sat there, staring at her hands. Was this it? Was it really the end?

"Miss Penrose?" Belle jumped at her name, looking up at Wentworth with a startled and scared expression. "Are you alright Miss Penrose?"

"Yes… I think so… This is all so… unreal." Wentworth smiled gently.

"I assure you that it's real M'Lady." Belle released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. "It's time to go." He held out his hand for her and Belle looked at him with disbelief. "You're in the protection of the royal escort now Miss, you are to be treated as such, it's his Majesty's orders."

"As such?"

"Yes Miss, you're to be treated as a Lady, Miss; nothing less than a Lady." Belle didn't know what to say in reply to that and so took Wentworth's hand without another utterance.

Everything happened so quickly after that, that Belle couldn't put an amount of time to the period from leaving the office to boarding the ship that would take her to her new home along with the loading of the few belongings she had onto the vessel.

"We'll be serving dinner in your quarters in a moment M'Lady." Belle snapped to attention as the cabin boy addressed her, causing her to blush slightly for daydreaming yet again. A quick muttered 'thank you' proceeded her quick shuffle to the cabin that she'd been given, completely to herself.

In truth, Belle had eaten little over the past few weeks. She'd come to hate the company of the pupils of Worcestershire more and more and so, couldn't face entering the dining hall. If she did venture from her room to the eating quarters she only did so as late as possible, so as to avoid the most people and so ended up eating the scraps of what was left. This meant that Belle hadn't eaten well for quite a few days now and so the food on board the ship, whilst below par of what she could expect when she arrived in Far Far Away, was still beyond her comprehension when it was laid before her.

The next few days passed by slowly. Belle would spend most of her time reading or watching the waves as they sailed along. The sun always seemed to be bright, as if wishing her well and the sea had been far from troublesome for the ship. She'd watched birds fly overhead with joy, smiling as they swirled through the pure blue sky and darted through the wispy clouds with such excitement that you'd be forgiven for thinking it was their last day on Earth.

"I feel as free as you do now my friends, I truly, truly do." Belle smiled, a true, beaming smile which broke onto her face and through into her eyes. Wentworth felt sorry for intruding upon her merriment, she really did look picturesque looking up at the sky as she leant on the ship's side, for a moment he could tell why the King was taken with her, if his assumptions were correct that is.

"Miss Penrose?" Belle looked at him, her blissful smile not faltering for a moment and he was struck by her easy grace, a side of her that had not been allowed to come forth at Worcestershire, not at any point during the few times he'd been in her presence.

"Yes Wentworth?" Wentworth decided to bow at that point, not from his training, but just from impulse, it felt due and he couldn't exactly explain why.

"We are almost at the port of Far Far Away Miss, we are preparing your things now M'Lady."

"Thank you Wentworth."

He bowed once more and took his leave until she called him back. "Wentworth,"

"Yes M'Lady?"

"You know the King, right?" Wentworth had to think for a moment. The King was far more approachable than his predecessor, though he supposed their close proximity in age helped a vast deal. The King did seem to depend, on him, or rather trust him, more than most of the staff, but he didn't really know him as such. He supposed being honest was the best way forward.

"Slightly M'Lady. I am just his steward Miss, I know him as well as a servant can in such a short space of time." Belle nodded.

"I understand that." She thought for a moment. "Why did he send for me?" For Belle this was an important question, one that she had been pondering in silence for days.

"I can only tell you what he told me Miss. He said that he had to clean up the mess he'd made for you M'Lady and that he wanted to give you what your father wanted for you and believed that you deserved, the best tuition in the land Miss." Belle was taken aback. Startled, she replied in a choked voice,

"Really?" Wentworth nodded. Belle's smile returned slightly and she inclined her head for a moment. "Thank you Wentworth, thank you." Wentworth did not doubt the sincerity of her words.

"You're welcome Miss." With that, he finally managed to take his leave, not without thinking how the young Miss Penrose, despite being quieter and shyer than any girl he'd had the fortune to meet and seriously lacking in confidence, was a very pleasant girl. Yes, she was timid and fragile and for the most part, quite plain looking, but she had an easy grace about her, an air of dignity and quiet strength that could not be learnt, only inherited and a hidden beauty that felt like a treasure found by the beholder when glimpsed.

Within half an hour, the ship bobbed to a stop in the harbour and the anchor was dropped into the water with a splash.

"Land ho!" A voice called from the crow's nest over their heads and Wentworth smiled, turning to the King's new charge,

"We're here Miss."

Belle looked in awe as she saw the harbour and the hills and mountains rising behind it, the kingdom of Far Far Away shining as if blessed. She slowly walked down the ramp to dry land, craning her neck for a moment to look at the kingdom once more. A small crowd had gathered at the harbour because of the royal carriage that was to be her transportation to the castle. She looked around shyly, suddenly feeling very self-conscious and aware of her own presence, faintly glad that she'd decided to dress in the best gown her father had been able to afford for her. The dress was of a simple and modest design, cut in an empire line, the fabric a pale cornflower blue with a pale lemon cloth filling the inset sections below the waist band and in the bust.

In an effort to distract herself from the growing number of people, she looked at the hair pin she held and smiled wistfully; the small golden pin had been her mother's and was decorated with a rose, a tiny pearl sitting in the centre as vines curled outwards from behind the bloom, giving the pin more substance and weight so that it was more easily seen. How she wished her mother had lived so she could have seen her wear it. She felt a twinge of grief as she gazed at it, but found enough resolve to tear her eyes away from it and carefully pinned back a good section of hair from the crown of her head, pinning back the weight of her thick brown hair, though she left a few wispy strands either side of her face to blend with her fringe, as well as giving her something to hide behind if the occasion was presented.

"To your new home M'Lady?" Wentworth asked, holding out a hand to help her into the carriage. Belle breathed in deeply, trying to build up the nerve not to look so worried.

"I'm ready." She said quietly, still withdrawing into her shell slightly but endeavouring to crawl out of it, no matter how slowly, and took the help he offered.

"We shall arrive at the castle shortly Miss." Belle carefully rubbed her eyes behind her gold glasses, the tiredness from the journey was catching up with her.

"Thank you Wentworth, to be honest I can't wait to sleep in a proper bed." Wentworth smiled, he understood the feeling better than she did, he'd had the rocking of the boat to contend with on the way to retrieve her as well and the first night had gifted him with a crew of footmen with severe sea sickness.

The ride to the castle seemed to fly by, probably because Belle was so nervous. Never in her life had she even seen a castle before, let alone been inside one. She was used to the domain of farms and cottages, that's where she belonged, she felt more than a little out of place in such a lavish carriage journeying to an even grander palace.

An even larger crowd had gathered to greet the royal carriage once it arrived at the castle, making Belle all the more nervous. She could see the curious eyes of the public trying to peer into the carriage and pressed further back into her seat, trying to shy away from the window. She could hear the whispering of the gossips as they rolled passed and couldn't help being reminded of the Academy. _'Get a grip Belle. This is a new place, new people for God's sake. Don't be so God damn paranoid.'_ She breathed out deeply to calm herself and felt somewhat more at peace.

The carriage lurched to a stop and Belle felt another surge of panic, forcing down the excitement that had been brewing at seeing her friend once more. The door opened with a snap, God how she wished she could just wrench that door back and shut it on the world once more.

"It's time Miss." At least she had Wentworth's friendly face to calm her nerves. She took his hand and carefully stepped down from the carriage, thanking her lucky stars that for once she didn't trip, and actually managing to block out the rumour and gossip spreading voices from her mind with a degree of success. Wentworth escorted her to the steps where Artie and his Aunt were waiting at the top of the steps.

Wentworth guided her to the base of the steps, before loosing her hands. Missing the comfort of being lead was not an option she had at that moment, but for a split second she felt it most keenly. With a deep breath and God knows how many pairs of eyes watching her every move she carefully and as gracefully as she could, climbed the steps and dipped into a low curtsey before the pair.

"Your Majesties." She said respectfully, bowing her head before raising into her straight backed position, a smile gracing her face as Arthur smiled at her in relief before grinning. Queen Lillian smiled too, glad to see her young nephew resembling a very rare mythical creature - a happy teenager.

"Welcome home Belle." Belle's smile broadened and Arthur escorted her inside with his Aunt Lillian, leaving the silent crowds outside, which burst into conversation as soon as the great doors were closed. Their main question?

_Who is the new girl?_

**Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, though I've had some ideas for the next few chapters, I haven't started writing the next chapter yet, though I hope to soon :) Oh and if you guys get some ideas, please feel free to PM me with them or whatever :) Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing guys and I hope to update as soon as I've been hit with enough inspiration to write the next chapter :D**


	10. A Lady?

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

**Review replies:**

Rebel of my Destiny: Thank you for your review, I'm glad you still like the story and I'm glad I brightened your day :) I hope you like this chapter too, I'm sorry it's taken since September to update! :)

VILYA74: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you like the story so far, hope you like this update ;)

Hope and love: Thank you :) Hope you love this chapter too :D

Star Inkyness 95: Hehe, thank you :) Sorry about the typos, I do my best, but I have no beta to proof read and sometimes it's just not so effective when you do it yourself, hope you like this chapter too :D

Dawnmist 11: Thank you :) Sorry it's taken so long, I hope you like this chapter :)

Yours by Moonlight: Sorry it's taken so long!

ChaosHasCome: Thank you for your review, it gave me the kick I needed to update again. Thanks also for the kind words, I'm glad you like my story so much to give it such high praise! Thank you and I hope you like this chapter too :)

Ok, I'm really sorry I've taken so long to get this up here, the chapter has been so hard to write, it really has. I have also had major upheavals and stresses in my life, which I know I shouldn't blame, but they have kept me from my writing and for this, I apologise. I can only throw myself to the mercy of you dear readers (those of you who have not abandonned Belle and I for a better story) and hope you will like this chapter as much as you seem to like the others. I have done my best, please forgive the length of time between now and the last. Anyway, enough entreaties, on with the story :) ...

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

****

**A Lady?**

Belle sighed as she slowly opened her eyes to stare at the canopy above her. It took her a moment to realise that the day before had actually happened and she still pinched herself to make certain.

The peace of the castle was what she'd hoped for and expected and this was gratified to some extent. The massive door had shut behind them, blocking out the curious eyes and murmured enquiries as to her identity. The peace was short lived as numerous questions were immediately thrown at her.

"Shall I take your luggae up to your room, M'Lady?"

"What is your favourite food M'Lady, cook would like to know,"

"Do you wish to wash and dress for dinner, now M'Lady, or shall I ask for your bath to be delayed?"

Belle had not expected such little breathing space, in fact she had not known what to expect at all, but so daunted was she by the stifling attention that she cringed - though she tried to keep this unsocial instinct hidden. She was unsuccessful and the staff appeared upset that they had affronted their new mistress so quickly. Seeing this, Arthur was about to dismiss them with an explanation, but Belle spoke before he had the chance,

"I'm sorry, I thank you for your kind attention, I'm just not used to such, um... Kind enquiries," she spoke diplomatically and whilst Queen Lillian had no knowledge of the girl apart from the basics of her situation - to which Arthur had begrudgingly enlightened her, upon delivery of the express sent ahead by Wentworth - she was disposed to like the girl upon such a natural display of tact. Belle smiled, taking a moment to compose herself, "as for your questions, I believe it would be very good of you to take my luggage upstairs for me, my favourite food is roasted apples, though I am rather fond of lamb and yes, I would dearly love for my bath to be ready for me."

Arthur was positively beaming now as the servants smiled, glad they had not angered the new lady within their charge and took their leave to undertake their tasks. He turned to Belle as did his Aunt Lillian and took the opportunity to welcome her proerply.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, child. Arthur has spoken little of the new friend he had made, but I see his judgement is not impaired, even if his mouth seems to be." belle didn't know how to reply to this initially, looking to Arthur's disgruntled face and smiling because of it, she thanked Queen Lillian and returned the favour,

"I am really honoured to meet you, your Majesty. To be honest, never in my life have I ever dreamed I would step foot into a manor, let alone such a beautiful castle. I can't thank you, or your nephew, enough for such kindness." She blushed at this point, having not spoken so many words together since the days her father was alive and the sincerity was as pure as the grass of the palace lawns was green. She looked to Arthur to see his good humour restored and a smile upon his face and Queen Lillian smiled knowingly to herself as she eyed the look between them.

"Do not fret dear, you are welcome here. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take a walk about the gardens before dinner, you will join us, I hope?"

"Of course, your Majesty." Belle dipped a curtsy because she felt it right and Queen Lillian beamed at the girl's natural humility and ingrained notions of respect, for as a gentleman's daughter, Belle was not expected to know the regulations of high society, though she was no pauper either. For her to have such manners was pleasing to see. As such, the Queen nodded in reply and took her leave.

"I'm glad you accepted my help," Arthur said quietly once she was gone, reluctant to meet Belle's gaze now, "when I heard Wentworth had delivered my letter with all royal ceremony, I knew I had to do something to fix the mistake."

"You weren't to know."

"But I should've warned Wentworth not to, to be honest, I was more worried about replying quickly and, I didn't think." Belle smiled, but Arthur didn't see it as he was still looking anywhere but her face - particularly the floor.

"You don't need to beat yourself up about it."

"But I should've though better."

"It's in the past."

"But I need to think more if I'm ever going to be a good king." Belle's look of confusion as to why he was so bothered was suddenly lifted. So that's what this was about, he was worried he was already failing in his new responsibilities. She reached out to him and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder, causing him to look her in the face. He was surprised by her sternly reassuring gaze.

"Artie, it's not your fault. You're new to this, you're going to make mistakes, it's your duty to learn and improve, not to reproach yourself for being human." At this point she blushed, " I hope you do not reproach yourself for trying to fix your mistake, because I know I do not." with this, and she wasn't sure what impulse overtook her, but override her senses and shyness it did, for she leaned forth and placed a quick and gentle kiss on his cheek before blushing furiously and quietly adding, "I'll see you at dinner." and turned to walk up the staircase behind her, finding a maid waiting for her at the top of the stairs.

Arthur nodded, staring blankly after her for a few moments before mumbling in quiet surprise,

"I shan't reproach myself now at all."

Belle had been nervous after that breach of her shyness and reserve to attend dinner, but she did and as Arthur smiled with the same shy nervousness, she was both worried and relieved. Worried that she may have made her one and only friend uncomfortable, and relieved that she had not upset him sufficiently for him his appetite to be stalled because of her presence.

She had convinced herself whilst washing and dressing for dinner that her display of thanks and affection for her friend was truly innocent, because he really had saved her from what seemed a never ending nightmare. For this she would be forever grateful, but his friendship was even more of a treasure to her, thus her worry that she may have offened him in some way.

Dinner passed quietly and uneventfully, though Belle was both touched and amused to see roast apples amongst the dishes served and her mind was put to rest - the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere and conversation stated that Arthur was not cross, far from it in fact. After such a long day, Belle requested that she be excused, an entreaty that was granted most kindly and so she retired to the peace of her room.

Upon waking, the staff seemed alert to her state of consciousness within minutes, giving her only a few moments of quiet contemplation - this being where she pinched herself to make sure her current circumstances were, indeed, real.

"Your bath is drawn M'Lady, and your gowns have been readied, which one would you like to select?" Belle, who had barely had time to fully collect her thoughts thanked the maid quietly and blinked, responding to the question simply with, "the blue one." only then wondering if she did have a blue gown, as she wasn't entirely sure. She'd spent so long in her Worcestershire uniform and was so tired that she couldn't recollect the gowns she did own, apart from the best of which, which she had already worn the day before.

Once ready, Belle was alerted to the fact that the King and his Aunt were waiting for her in the dining room for breakfast and so she joined them.

"Good morning dear, I hope you slept well." Queen Lillian greeted her as a footman helped her to her seat. Belle smiled when she realised it was Wentworth and thanked the Queen with the affirmitive,

"I did, it was far pleasanter than I am accustomed to." The allusion to Worcestershire woke Arthur up slightly, he was still slightly sleepy from staying up - a troubled mind was the cause of this - and the reference caused him to remember something he'd forgotten to address the day before.

"Belle, I thought you should know, your tutors will arrive today."

"My tutors?" Belle asked curiously, taking leave of the breakfast placed before her for a moment. Arthur nodded and Queen Lillian smiled,

"You take great interest in your studies, Belle?" Belle nodded,

"Oh yes, you Majesty, I have always dearly loved to read and I am, by nature, quite inquisitive, my father-" she paused at this point, pressing her lips together to compose herself, reminding herself of him was still painful, "my father, God rest him, wanted me to get the best tutelage in the land and thus sent me to the Academy."

Queen lillian nodded, moved by the emotion displayed at the mention of her father and the composure which she managed to reclaim. She pondered at that moment that, whilst not a Lady by birth, Belle held the natural hallmarks of such, though not present consistently. In her opinion, Belle was a diamond, not an old family heirloom, but newly discovered in the lowly settings of the Earth, rough around the edges and only in need of refining and polishing.

"Excuse my curiosity, but who are my tutors to be?"

"Their names escape me for the moment, though I know you'll be introduced to them upon their arrival. I do know, however, that you'll be tutored in the same subjects as at the Academy; magic, history, politics and ancient languages... as well as deortment, etiquette and dancing."

"Dancing?" All the others were quite natural to her, she had been taught all of those subjects at the Academy and could see their use and importance, but deportment, etiquette and dancing?

"Yes, Belle. Dancing."

"And etiquette and deportment?" Arthur nodded, Queen Lillian sipped her tea in silence. "But those are the lessons of a Lady."

"Which you are, Belle."

"But-" Belle floundered slightly and, not wishing to offend by pointing out that everyone present knew damn well she wasn't a Lady by rank, simply a lady by nature, she bit her tongue and instead said, "but I don't know how to dance..." Arthur and Queen Lillian chuckled, before the young Kind said,

"That is what the lessons are for, Belle."

"Belle nodded, but her confusion and curiosity were far from resolved."

"More to herself, rather than anyone at the table, Belle mumbled only loud enough for her lap to hear,

"I am to be a Lady?"

**So, I hope you liked this chapter, I can only apologise again for the extraordinarily slow update. I hope you can find it in the kindness of your hearts to review and will be nice :) lol. I have a possible idea for the next chapter, but I have chores to do first before I'm able to pen (or rather type) it, so I can only, once more, appeal to your patience and grace. Thank you! :)**


	11. Impressions

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

**Review replies:**

ChaosHasCome: Thank you again for your review, you really have given me a kick, though I'm worried my inspiration may not last, I hope this chapter will show I'm trying to keep the motivation going :) Hope you enjoy it ;)

Rebel of my Destiny: Lol, I'm glad you liked the subtleness of the chapter ;) I hope you like this chapter too :)

Nick1488: Yay a new reader :) Thank you for reading my story and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :D

wicca in training: Yes, I apologise for the long wait, I hope it hasn't spoilt the story for you and I hope you enjoy this chapter too :)

Violet Lily 101: Thank you for the welcome back :) Yes, I'm trying to get back on track, still quite stressed, but not so bad, thanks for the concern :) It's not written that brilliantly, by the way, just the best that I can - I've seen much better authors on my writing course at uni, but thank you ever so much for the kind praise! I hope you like this chapter too :)

hanny spoon: Thank you and I'm glad you like Belle, I've taken her to my heart :) Thank you for such kind praise, if people keep this up I'm going to be forced to believe it! Yeah, I'm English too and I just thought, "She's saying it in my head, so why not?" Hmmm... Is it weird my characters talk to me? LOL. Thank you for the review and I hope you like this chapter as well.

Hope and love: Thank you :) Hope you love this chapter too :)

Yours by Moonlight: Yeah, sorry it's taken so long, I'm glad I got you to imagine how Belle was feeling :) Hope this second chapter today helps to heal my previous rubbish update time :) lol. Enjoy ;)

Yeah, I know, I don't update in months and then two updates come along at once lol. Basically, I had a little inspiration and I wanted to use it before I had a chance to waste it, so I hope this chapter's ok. Hope you enjoy it and, well yeah, that's pretty much it :) Enjoy!

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

****

**Impressions**

Belle could barely contain her excitement after breakfast. True, she was nervous, she didn't know what to expect from her new tutors and whilst this anxious anticipation was strong, her desire and will to begin her studies far outstripped it. For, as Belle had proclaimed herself that very morning, she had an inquisitive nature and, in addition to this, a thirst for knowledge and learning.

Belle excused herself after breakfast, wishing to take a tour of the gardens. Arthur and Queen Lillian had offered to show them to her, but she'd politely declined,

"Please, do not think me rude, but I honestly need to clear my head, the staff are kind and so helpful, but I-"

"Wish to escape them?" Queen Lillian offered and Belle smiled sheepishly,

"Yes."

"And us?" Belle looked horrified,

"Oh, not at all! It is just, I am not used to company, no matter how small the number…" Belle looked a little downcast and unsure of herself now and Queen Lillian took pity on her.

"Of course, you have not had time to settle into castle life. We shall leave you for your walk and shall see you later, we shall alert you if your tutors arrive and if you need to find us before hand, you can ask one of the servants." Belle nodded, more elated now and thanked them wholeheartedly.

So Belle had ventured out after breakfast, meandering through the gardens and smelling the flowers and the dewy grass. She passed a section of bushes and caught a familiar scent. Roses. She smiled sadly, roses had surrounded their family home and the scent had always dispersed heavily into the air during the warmer months so that when she rose from slumber she felt as if lifted upon a rose scented cloud. The fresh scent of lilies and fresh cut grass filled her nostrils next and she grinned. Her next door neighbour's garden had been full of lilies and they always sent some to Belle and her father on special occasions and for Belle's birthday.

She sat amongst the roses and lilies for a while before spotting some stray bluebells hidden amongst daisies in the grass at the base of a large tree. She spied around seeing if anyone was about, not knowing whether they would be seen as weeds, she didn't want to alert anyone to their presence. Upon satisfying her notions that she was gardener free, she steeled over to the tree and picked a few of the wild blooms and marvelled at their cheeky beauty. After a moment she tucked her hair behind her right ear and decorated it with a bluebell and two daisies tucked carefully into place. For a few minutes she delighted herself in making a simple daisy chain before she was approached by Wentworth. She only looked up when his shadow was cast over her, alerting her to his presence.

"Miss, Penrose M'am," he ventured reluctantly, not wishing to remove the happy smile from her face and the simple joy in her eyes, "your tutors are here M'am."

"Truly?" Belle replied with excitement and scrambled to her feet. "Then lead the way, good sir!" She smiled in good humour and Wentworth nodded with a smile, glad to see her not displeased, but actually excited.

Belle wasn't exactly sure what she expected, but she did not, indeed, expect the disapproving looks her appearance gave as she was introduced in the hall. She would later reflect that perhaps first impressions of being a Lady were not made by young country lasses with flowers in their hair and a daisy chain trailing from their grasp.

"This, gentlemen and lady, is your tutee, Miss Belle Penrose." Arthur thus introduced her and Belle curtsied, her joyful smile not wavering until the collective gaze of the assembled tutors fully came to rest upon her.

"It is my pleasure to meet you all." She greeted meekly, her voice having lost her at this potent display of disapproval. Arthur, however, felt her conduct and appearance nothing unordinary, Belle looked pretty and happy and he was glad she finally seemed more settled in her new surroundings. Unfortunately, this did not seem acceptable to all of those convened.

"Belle, Professor Stonebridge will teach you History and magic, Professor Dellmore will teach politics, Mr Fuson knows an extensive collection of ancient languages and will thus teach you all he can." Belle nodded and curtsied to each,

"It is a pleasure to meet you all, gentlemen." Professor Stonebridge seemed forbidding in an annoyingly superior way. There was a glint in his eye that Belle could've sworn was akin to a challenging kind of friendship, but she wasn't sure what gave her this notion. Professor Dellmore seemed nothing short of a tall, gangling snob, with a suspiciously pointed nose that reminded Belle of a trowel and as for Mr Fuson! He had white eyebrows and surprisingly dark hair - surprising in the manner that she did not believe it to be natural in the slightest - and a rotund belly that Belle supposed would do well as a barrel template.

Luckily she had the presence of mind and of dignity not to utter these observations aloud, though said tutors would probably disregard such a suggestion of tact as the folly of the author, for no country lass, especially the one before them, could possess any of the qualities of a Lady. To them, it thus appeared, they had their work cut out.

However, the most disagreeable and strict looking of the group was the only female, Madame Fellcourt.

"Belle, this is Madame Fellcourt, your etiquette, deportment and dancing tutor." Belle curtsied as did Madame Fellcourt. Belle was unnerved by the woman's eyes, they were hawkish and unkind looking and her face was thin and withered, looking like that of old parchment being stretched over a canvas bordering on the too large. She was a thin woman, though tall enough to impose a formidable figure, despite her lack of mass.

"It is a pleasure, Madame."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Penrose." Said woman replied, in a tone that clearly said it was not a pleasure at all. Belle was disconcerted by this coldness, but was determined not to be put off. She would not quit the notion that she and her father shared. She would strive for knowledge, whether they liked it or not. Although, at that moment she dearly wish to run from their inscrutable gaze, she forced herself to maintain her civility and composure,

"If you will excuse me, gentlemen, Madame, I must prepare myself for lunch." With that she forced a smile for Arthur and made her way quietly and with as much dignity as she could muster, towards the stairs and held her head high as she ascended.

She would show them. She would force them to retract their disapproval. For she dearly loved a challenge.

What she hadn't comprehended was how much of a challenge she would face.

**So, I hope you liked this chapter, I think it's a bit shorter than the one before, but I hope it conveys a little of what's to come, hopefully :) Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you review and once again: Thank you! :)**


	12. Evil

******Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

**Review Replies**

ChaosHasCome: I'm glad you like the tutors, well find them interesting anyway :) They're going to be quite important and so is someone who is introduced in this chapter, but I shan't say anymore for fear of spoiling it ;)

wicca_in_training: Time to test that memory again haha. I'm really sorry it's taken me so long, I'll explain more in a mo', but I hope you remember my story and like tha chapter :)

hanny_spoon: I'm glad I'm not a complete freak! LOL. Thank you for the compliment, I hope my writing hasn't suffered too much from my long absence, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much, there's quite a bit of description at the beginning for you to enjoy :)

mischiefmanaged101: I take it from your name you're a Harry Potter fan? Me too lol. Anyway, I'm glad you like it and I hope you like this next chapter :) There's no insight into Artie's head yet though, that's coming very soon (probably next chapter) I needed to set this up first so we'd have more to look into ;)

emochildlova: Thanks, I'm glad you like it and I hope you like this next chapter too :)

peste21: No worries, so long as you understand my fic I don't mind if your English isn't brilliant (it's my first language, I'm studying it at uni and I still can't spell lol). I'm glad you've enjoyed my story so far and I hope you like this new chapter :)

Ok, so no amount of grovelling can make up for a year's absence. I can only sincerely apologise. I have had a tremendous case of writer's block and couldn't continue this story for aaaages. The same with my other one, _Mystic Titans_ which I adore equally - I am trying to update that one incidently. I've had a manic time with uni and family issues which I shan't go into, but I hope this new chapter works as a nice back up to my apologies. Anyway, I hope you like this next chapter and thank you ever so much for sticking with this... If anyone is actually still interested in this story. :/

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Evil**

She looked out of her window at the landscape that was quickly becoming familiar to her. The bustling town was alive with voices that she could hear faint echoes of even from within the palace walls. She'd never been accustomed to the fast pace of town life and the nearby designer label laden high street of Far Far Away was even busier than most. The high position of the castle gave her elevated bedroom a far-reaching view from her window that stretched into the distance. The outlines of trees and hills and a small village were softened by a gentle mist and bathed in a soft glow of sunshine. She smiled wistfully as she remembered _her_ village, the home of her childhood. She had fond memories of the place that were made dearer still as the spirit of her father echoed through her mind. The connection between the place and her treasured memory of him felt as real as if he were still with her when she thought of the lush green fields surrounding their farm and the lake that glittered beyond.

After a moment's thought, she frowned.

"Memories aren't the same though." They were still comforting all the same, despite their intangible nature.

She reached for the book on her dresser. It was a book her father had loved dearly that he'd left to her. Her love for her father had kept it with her always, but the raw grief had overpowered her natural curiosity and she'd never opened it.

It smelt just like her father, it washed over her softly in waves of newly cut wood dust, fresh grass and newly turned soil. He'd never worked the fields they had owned himself, but he loved them and as a child she'd wondered if they were entwined somehow, as if they were living through each other. The book even looked like her father, old, wizened, a bit rough and tattered around the edges, but still loved and cared for all the same.

How come the grief never seemed to go away? How come it never seemed to get better for her? Perhaps it was because her father had been so close to her or simply because he had _understood_ her and _loved_ her. Artie did though, didn't he? Understand her, not love her, but he did care, didn't he?

"And I thought the lessons were hard to figure out." She sighed, looking over to her desk where books on history, magic and various ancient languages lay, alongside textbooks on deportment, etiquette and politics. Her head began to ache at the thought of it.

"I'm never going to learn all of this." Belle sighed, picking up the book on etiquette reluctantly. "I mean, really is it that important where everyone sits at the dinner table? As long as you get fed, who cares?" She laughed at the image that suddenly appeared in her mind's eye, that of a horrified and indignant Madame Fellcourt.

Belle lessons had started just a short week ago and she already felt like Artie's attempt to live up to her Father's wishes was going to be her undoing. His gesture was the epitome of kindness and friendship, she could see that, but her tutors were rather quickly sapping her brain and the challenge that she had relished at first felt like it would kill her.

The lunch she had endured – and it truly was endured – on their first day as her resident tutors had been a living nightmare. Each one of them had watched her closely and, what with Belle's latent shyness due to her long stint as a social outcast, she did not appreciate being scrutinised. She had the conviction of her Father's wishes to hold onto as a brace of strength, but her own self doubt added to the unsaid doubts of the newcomers that floated in the air to such an extent that she felt it hard to breathe, let alone speak.

Things had gone downhill from there. In her first politics lesson Belle had gotten so confused that Professor Dellmore had become so exasperated and short tempered that she had quite shied away from him and replied rather cautiously that she was doing the best she could. His monotonous voice did not help trying to comprehend the delicate political structure of a land so distant both in time and location – it was more than three hundred miles away and he was trying to impart the situation of four hundred years ago – and she had become as exasperated as him. He had replied rather crossly that 'he did not expect her to pick things up quickly considering her background', at which point Belle had risen from her chair with all the furious dignity that she could muster and politely replied that she thought they were done for the day and left before she could say something irretrievably rude. The whole scenario simply gave the Professor the opinion that Belle was an ignorant, headstrong girl who had no respect for her intellectual superiors.

Her first deportment and etiquette lesson with Madame Fellcourt had, likewise, been a trial. The woman had watched with an unavoidable gaze as Belle walked backwards and forwards, turned and curtsied around the room, not mentioning once that her poise and grace were admirable – no, she only mentioned that the girl must lower her shoulders and keep her head raised for she constantly looked like she were being inflicted pain. Belle was not surprised by this description – Madame Fellcourt's eyes held such an acidic look to them, she felt it might burn her at any moment.

The etiquette lesson was no joy either. Belle had stumbled her way through the various different basic implements of cutlery and what they were to be used for, but the Madame had been relentless in her questioning and remonstration of failure to such an extent that Belle began to feel as though she were a simpleton and deserved nothing more than to be shipped off to a forgotten land to be forgotten herself, it seemed Madame Fellcourt had no thoughts that she might be of some use to someone.

Besides the Mr Fusson's attempts to make progress with her ancient languages – he was frustrated to find she had only a very limited base of knowledge, but then, what else could he expect? – Belle had found little enjoyment and pride to be had from her lessons, apart from those imparted by Professor Stonebridge. After his first impressions he had expected her to be a flighty, unreasonable girl, ignorant to all things sensible and not worth his time. His first lesson with her though had undone this unjust image and he now found her a responsive pupil. She was bright, had a talent for picking up on enough the smallest detail and making connections he had not seen before himself and she tried so prodigiously hard. In short, he was unsure which he were more impressed by – Belle's application to her studies, or the fact that she had proved him wrong. Belle herself, found him the most likeable of her four tutors and had thus rewarded his kindness and respect with her own, as well as a zest for learning in his classes that she had not shown in any of the others.

These reflections however, did not help her to learn who should sit next to whom at the dinner table and she scowled as she tried her best to make sense of the unfathomable rules when there was a quiet knock at her door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me." Belle raised a brow. She recognised that voice, but was confused as to why it would be outside her bedroom door.

"And who is 'me' exactly?" She asked with a smile, putting down the infernal etiquette book.

"Artie, who else would it be?" Belle smiled to herself, opening the door to see the King himself.

"Well I wasn't really expecting you, so I couldn't understand why anyone would be whispering at my door." Arthur grinned bashfully. "What is it, Artie?" She asked, noticing the nervousness about him in an instant. Arthur cringed.

"You're going to kill me, but honest, it's not my fault." Belle felt a feeling of dread crawl up her spine.

"Why? What have you done that would make me want to kill you?" She asked warily and Arthur shut the door behind himself before pacing his way about the room. Belle watched him, her own nerves starting to get twitchy.

"Your lessons are going ok, aren't they?" He asked. Belle's eyes narrowed.

"Arthur Pendragon, you are evading my question." She said sternly and Arthur stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She was standing with her hands on her hips and he swallowed visibly.

"No I'm not, I'm just curious." Belle's brow raised higher.

"They're fine. I won't say they're fantastic, but I'm doing my best. I'd like to see you try to remember all the etiquette." She mumbled. Arthur looked at the book with disdain.

"Oh don't worry, Mr Jenks has been a flea in my ear about how I could learn a thing or two from Madame Fellcourt." Belle frowned. Mr Jenks was the head royal advisor and Belle knew he didn't like her, but as she was concerned the feeling was mutual.

"Artie, why're you here?" Arthur looked at her warily.

"Like I said, it's not my fault-"

"If you don't tell me I seriously will kill you and I'll get Professor Stonebridge to show me an inventive way of disposing of the evidence." She remarked flatly. Arthur rubbed the back of his neck apprehensively. "Please, just tell me."

"It was Mr Jenks' idea. He said we had to do things properly or people would talk."

"Talk of what?" Belle asked with confusion. Arthur's face began to redden which only increased Belle's bafflement. Arthur mumbled,

"About why I brought you to the castle." He seemed to be finding his shoes very interesting at the moment – Belle was glad, she had begun to blush herself.

"Oh."

"He said we had to have a big ball, to show you to the people of Far Far Away, to introduce you..."

"As what?" Belle asked, Arthur looked up at her, that part wasn't the bit she wasn't going to like.

"As Lady Isabelle Penrose, friend and ward of the King." Belle smiled with relief.

"Well I am hardly going to kill you for that." She replied with serenity, going back to her desk and the book, thinking it would be preferable to turn up to Madame Fellcourt's lesson with at least a small modicum of clarity. Arthur nodded, hastily making his way to the door.

"I'm glad you think so." He replied, making sure he was at the door and half way through it before he added, "The ball's at the end of next week." He glanced warily over his shoulder as he heard Belle drop the book and clamber from her chair.

"What?"

"The end of next week... And everyone from Worcestershire will be invited." He darted from the room. Belle stood frozen in shock before she ran to the door herself.

"Artie! Artie you can't!" But he was already gone and Belle felt utterly lost. This decided it.

Mr Jenks was pure evil.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if anyone is still reading my work, thank you ever so much and please review, just so I know it's worth continuing :) Thanks everyone**


	13. Undoing

**********Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

**Review Replies**

kitty-kat-girlyyyxxx: Hehe, you'll just have to wait and see what happens at the ball, Belle's got a bit of prep to do before then, which may or may not be fun, besides, there'd be no story without conflict and fluff for the sake of fluff I just hate with a passion. You've gotta have some drama first ;) Haha. Hope you enjoy this chapter ;)

ChaosHasCome: I know the last one was a bit of a filler, I needed to introduce the ball idea to keep the plot going (what little I have in mind anyway) and my absence was really long, I'm really sorry! I felt so bad that I've written another chapter while the muse is with me :) Hope you like it :)

Yeah, so like I say, I felt so awful I thought I better write another chapter as an extra big apology, it means I probably won't get a nice review count for the previous chapter, but oh well, that's my hard cheese :) Hope you like this one, it's the promised insight into Artie's brain a bit more and by Joe has he got a lot going on in there! Hehe. Thanks for sticking with me guys, it really means a lot - Actually, you have no idea how much 3

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Undoing**

Arthur had never left a room so quickly since he had left the Academy and it was under entirely different reasons this time. He was sure Belle would be cross... very cross, or at least nervous, perhaps even scared, in fact he wasn't entirely sure of her reaction at all really.

What he was certain of was that he didn't want to see what it was, whatever it may be. Belle was his friend and whilst he wanted to be there for her, the very idea of giving her this piece of news had filled him with loathing, never mind that he had actually helped form the idea.

He got tired of running and hid down an underused side corridor, leaning up the wall and breathing a little shallowly from the pace. How could he have given in to Mr Jenks' suggestions? Nothing but bad things could come from inviting the students of Worcestershire to the kingdom. He had no desire to see them again and he was pretty sure Belle wouldn't either.

"Your Majesty, you must see it from the point of view of the people. They are already asking questions as to who the girl is. They have a right to know what their King is up to." Arthur resented Jenks for always referring to Belle as 'the girl' it seemed so rude and impersonal. Thus, he took great delight in referring to her by name whenever he could.

"Belle is a resident here now. Not some exhibit for people to gawp over." Mr Jenks had nodded his head with an obviously forced smile that was so restrained, Arthur had wondered why he'd even bothered to try.

"Your Majesty, please. A little ball to present her to the people is hardly anything to concern yourself over. The girl will simply have to refine herself a little quicker than she anticipated." The sneering quality of his tone made Arthur wonder exactly who had hired him and why in Magic's name they had. "You must invite all of your old school friends, it will be a chance to cement your place as King and your image as no longer a student, as well as to establish the place in the royal household of Miss Penrose." Arthur could tell Jenks would not let the topic drop when he used Belle's name – it was obviously important as the man would not even let his distaste for Belle get in the way of his goal.

"Lady Belle will have no desire to see any of those students again." Arthur remarked flatly before adding with sternness, "And neither have I for that matter." Jenks resorted to a simpering tone.

"Your Majesty, if I may say so, you are the King of Far Far Away, not Miss Penrose and as such, you have a duty to uphold as well as the correct image. Surely you can see the diplomatic importance of such an event?" Arthur sighed. He could tell he wouldn't get his own way. Jenks was far too slippery for that.

"Very well, see to it Mr Jenks." The man beamed.

"Shall I inform Miss Penrose, your Majesty?" _'Oh I will not give you the satisfaction.'_ Arthur thought.

"No it will be quite alright, Mr Jenks. I shall see to that task myself."

Part of him wished now that he had let Jenks take care of it, but he knew Belle would rather hear it coming from himself.

He felt awful for running away from her and cowering now in this darkened corridor, but part of him was relieved by it. He'd had little sleep since she'd arrived, mainly because he couldn't seem to simply switch his brain off as he seemed to be able to before.

For starters, his Aunt Lillian had been giving him little smiles every time Belle entered the room or she spoke of her. The former Queen had given high praise of the new addition to the castle, remarking that she was a dear, sweet girl, graceful and polite and pretty in a shy, retiring sort of way. Her questions as to how Arthur had met her, how he knew her and – this seemed to be the most important to her – what he thought of her, had been unbearable in their frequency, mainly because they made him think all the more as to the answers.

What did he truly think of Belle? She was his friend, what was he supposed to think of her? She nice, kind and honest – that last one was really important to him. He could relate to her and they seemed to have so much in common that it was scary.

And she'd kissed him.

That wouldn't leave his brain, no matter how much he tried.

Why had she done that, exactly? Was it simply a case that she was grateful that he'd 'rescued' her? The thought had kept him awake the entire night of her arrival and was why he'd been sleepy and dim witted at the breakfast table the next morning. She'd seemed nervous to be around him that evening at dinner, but ever since she'd seemed normal, simply his friend.

Why did that bother him so much? Why did he want to know why she'd kissed him anyway? Shouldn't he just be happy that she had? He'd hoped and dreamt that Guinn would kiss him throughout his entire stay at Worcestershire and now, here he was, a very different girl had planted a kiss on him and he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Maybe that was it, maybe it was because he had hoped Guinn would kiss him instead.

But then, he hadn't thought of her much lately. Ever since he'd met Belle, or rather gotten to know her, he'd hardly thought of Guinn once and the only times he did so was in surprise that he hadn't been thinking about her. It had him greatly confused – he had professed he loved her after all and he'd been certain of that. If he could be certain about something that he was slowly coming to realise he had been wrong about, what else could he be judging inaccurately?

This sense of doubt and confusion was only increased by the conversation with Mr Jenks, which was why Arthur had been so irritated by it. Mr Jenks' disapproving manner and blatant disgust regarding Belle clearly seemed to suggest that he thought there was more between the two young people than a simple friendship.

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was beginning to wonder if Mr Jenks was right.

But the main thing he wondered about and he simply couldn't ascertain hiding in the corridor was if he was pleased or repulsed by the idea. He was certainly bothered by it, he knew that, but Belle was his friend. He treasured her as a friend.

That kiss though...

"Ugh. Someone just put me out of my misery for Magic's sake." He muttered, dragging a hand across his face slowly.

Was his kindness to Belle going to be his undoing?

He walked back into the main corridor and looked out of one of the large windows. He was surprised to see Belle wandering around the garden, her etiquette book in hand as she periodically practised her curtsy and prattled to herself as she tried to memorise all she needed to. Arthur smiled before frowning with thought.

The way she'd chastised him using his full name had affected him greatly. It had made him look at her in surprise and, which he was more surprised at, he'd found himself liking the fact that it sounded right. There was just something about it that made him want to smile now. She'd told him off as if they were an old married couple. God, did he really just think that?

He needed to talk to her, to ask her what she'd meant by it, by the kiss as well, but wouldn't that ruin their friendship? He couldn't risk that could he? Not when her welfare depended on him now. No. He'd have to wait it out. Bide his time, see if she explained it herself.

He hid behind the wall next to the window as he saw her head tilt up in his direction and leant back so his head rested on the wall in his exasperation.

"She's going to be the death of me."

**Hehe. I love it when guys have a little melodrama like us girls, it proves their human XD But yes, does Artie have a thing for Belle? Does Belle have a thing for Artie? How evil can I be about this upcoming ball? ****Hehe, you'll just have to wait and see. Your thoughts/predictions/opinions on what you think's coming next, or would like to see would be greatly appreciated - it helps keep my writer's block at bay and I like to see if my thoughts on where it's going are on the money with yours ;) Thanks guys.**


	14. Artie?

**********Disclaimer: I do not own the Shrek series or any of the characters apart from Belle Penrose. I do however own this story and the plot (whatever it turns out to be in the end) and I am rather possessive when it comes to my work, so just don't steal please, thank you!**

Okay so I would usually reply to all my lovely reviewers here, but I'm not going to do that because if I do, I may reveal too much of this chapter before you read it and I don't want to spoil the surprise. All I will say is that I'm very sorry once again for the long wait. My life has been hell since I last wrote for you guys (my parents have split for the second time, I've moved house and endeavoured and managed to finish my degree, my rabbit died, I've been to and fro-ing to the Doctors, etc etc). However, all that is of no importance to you, because you want to read the chapter you've been waiting for, so I'll happily shut up now and let you read :)

**Always the outcast, never the princess**

**Artie?**

Belle's head swam.

A ball...

The end of next week...

All of Worcestershire's students attending...

There was no hope...

Still, she loved a challenge.

She picked up her etiquette book with an air of resignation. There was only one thing for it – cram and cram hard. So long as she put the hours and effort in she was sure she could pull it off... Or at least, not embarrass herself _completely_.

"Mostly, but not completely." She muttered, wandering around the gardens, practising her posture as she did so. Madame Fellcourt was a slave driver and there was no way she wanted to be admonished by those hawkish eyes again.

* * *

That week was a whirlwind of posture correction so strict, Belle thought her back could be used as a ruler. Her dance lessons were so well drilled into her she thought she might dance in her sleep. She was even sure she had gained an inch in height, though in reality it was simply because Madame Fellcourt kept screeching at her to lift her head.

"Miss Penrose, please lift your head and keep it raised! You must show your interest in the _room_, no matter how interesting you find the floor." Belle sighed and raised her head. "That is better." She instructed for the piano player to begin the music once more.

"Again?" Belle asked wearily and Madame Fellcourt nodded.

"Again. You shall practise until you get it right."

"Madame, do you not think that perhaps our pupil requires a small interval in your rigorous training?"

"Good Professor Stonebridge, let me reign in the realm of music and feminine charms and I shall leave you and your records and magical tomes well alone. From the beginning Miss Penrose, if you please." Belle began the steps with tired elegance. Madame Fellcourt watched closely.

Arthur watched closely too as he appeared through the archway of the great ballroom they were using to practise in. The sound of music had lured him there and he was not disappointed by what he saw.

Belle was pretty even with that frown of concentration on her face, her eyes closed behind her glasses as she listened intently to the music. She moved in such a fluid way it was hard for him to understand what Madame Fellcourt could be picking fault with.

As the music stopped the other three tutors who sat, lined up against the one wall began to clap and Arthur could not help but add his own round of applause.

"Arthur!" Belle's gasp of surprise and deep blush only made Arthur grin. The tutors rose to their feet and bowed as Madame Fellcourt curtsied – Belle was too surprised and embarrassed to move.

"Your Majesty. Would you care to join us?" The wafer thin Madame asked. Arthur pulled a face.

"No thank you, I don't dance."

"Well, you're making me." Belle interrupted, though she cowered a little under Madame Fellcourt's reproachful gaze. Arthur rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes, but girls look pretty when they dance... boys look like fools."

"Is that not why we have lessons, Artie? So that we don't look like fools?" The triumphant little smile on Belle's face made Arthur scowl. Madame Fellcourt, however, forgave her charge's interruption for it was an exceedingly good point.

"Indeed, your Majesty. All Kings dance."

"Not this one."

"Oh come on Artie. You can't be much worse than me. Surely." Belle smiled encouragingly at him and Arthur couldn't help himself. He accepted to take part in a rather surly, reluctant manner, but Madame Fellcourt took little notice... actually, no notice at all.

"Perfect. We can now practise proper foot placement and posture. Miss Penrose, put your hand upon his Majesty's shoulder, yes that's right. Now your Majesty, place this hand upon Miss Penrose's waist-"

"What?" Arthur asked, startled. Belle blushed with a giggle and Madame Fellcourt placed his hand for him.

"Like so. Now entwine your free hands like this, ah very good. Now, your Majesty, simply watch Miss Penrose's feet for now and when she moves backwards, you move forwards and vice versa, but remember to step in the same direction when moving sideways." Arthur, clearly puzzled, looked to Belle in astonishment. Belle merely smiled as Madame Fellcourt backed away.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. She won't tell you off like she does with me." Arthur hardly thought that was the case as the woman looked quite the old battleaxe, but he nodded nervously. There was something about holding Belle's hand like this and facing her so closely that was, well, distracting.

The music began and Arthur moved as Belle did, trying to ignore the fact that they were being watched. Belle winced slightly as Arthur stepped on her foot and Arthur grimaced with apology.

"See, I told you-"

"It's fine; I have another foot after all." Belle whispered, smiling. Arthur tried to hide a laugh.

"You're good at this Belle." It was Belle's turn to suppress a laugh.

"You should have seen me at the beginning, Madame Fellcourt was not pleased." Arthur didn't really know what to say in response, mainly because he wasn't really listening; I did say facing Belle was all too distracting for him, didn't I?

The music, and thus the dance, finished all too quickly, much to Arthur's relief. Belle's tutors gave them a round of applause and Belle was glowing with triumph and a happy smile.

* * *

Arthur couldn't really remember how he'd gotten from that point in the ballroom to this moment now. The week had flown by; preparations had been undertaken with little assistance from him, apart from possibly a nod here and a spoken approval there. Not that he was really paying attention. He had far too much going on in his own head to give a damn what was going on around him.

All his old tormentors would be here, not just his, but Belle's too. Surely there was some way to get out of this nightmare still?

Of course there wasn't though. Poor Belle, did she really have to suffer the scrutiny and more importantly at this moment, did he? She at least, had been having lessons on how to receive this mob. He hadn't. In fact, he rather supposed he would be more nervous tonight than she would be.

He did have to face a girl that he'd professed his love for after all. A girl he didn't particularly want to face – especially when she would probably fawn over him as a newly made young King like many had done before her. The thought made him grimace and groan.

Tonight would be hell, pure and simple.

He peered into the ballroom nervously, seeing all those people he had held no intention of seeing ever again when he left the Academy with Shrek. He wished he'd had the presence of thought to invite Shrek actually, he, Fiona and the others could have made this torment bearable... and if not, they could have suffered with him.

"Stupid big, green-"

"Arthur, are you going to greet your guests or not?" Arthur scowled as his Aunt Lillian raised a brow at him, waiting for him to enter before her. He glowered... lots. Trumpets sounded and Arthur jumped visibly as the recently installed curtains were pulled back to reveal the archway into the great ballroom.

"Presenting, his Majesty King Arthur of Far Far Away and his Aunt, Queen Lillian!"

All the guests were congregated in the hall, split into two large masses of people so that a clear path ran to the opposite end of the hall. Arthur steadied himself as best he could – he had to traverse that path with all eyes on him and the thought was not a pleasant one. He stepped through with his Aunt Lillian and the curtains once again fell shut behind them.

His old school mates greeted him with simpering smiles or glares of jealousy and Arthur actually felt as though he preferred the latter. He made his way up to the throne that stood on a raised platform at the head of the ballroom. In truth, he had no desire to sit where everyone could see him, but his legs felt like they would give way and he was glad to finally be seated. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his Aunt to smile and find a little strength from her composure when the announcer tapped his staff on the marble floor three times, the sound echoing through the now quiet hall.

"Presenting his Majesty's ward; the Lady Isabelle Penrose."

Arthur looked to the archway as did the other guests, but whilst they were curious, he was absolutely stunned.

Surely that could not be Belle? She was so... beautiful.

His eyes were as large as saucers as she walked towards the platform. He'd always thought she was pretty, but tonight was something else entirely. Her hair had been slightly curled and gently pulled back; the shiny brown mass tumbled prettily past her shoulders. Her gown was pretty too, a pale cream with an overly of some sort of fine yellow gold mesh that glittered, the neckline ran across her shoulders, accentuating her improved posture and adding to the elegance of the close fitting long sleeves.

But the most glorious detail of all, was that tonight, she was not wearing her glasses. Arthur marvelled at the sight of her pretty brown eyes, shyly and self-consciously passing over the faces of the crowd. How had she managed that? He thought she needed those gold-rimmed windows almost as much as he needed to reclaim his sanity right now.

"Your Majesties." Belle said quietly, her words heard throughout the ballroom despite the lack of volume. Queen Lillian smiled to herself at Arthur's gaping expression.

"Lady Belle, you look very well." The former monarch said with a smile. Belle had been looking quite self aware until that moment, but the kind words made her positively beam.

"Thank you, your Majesty." She curtsied to them both and took her seat on the much smaller chair on Arthur's left hand side. "Arthur, dear, you should motion for the musicians to start playing." The Queen whispered gently, Arthur managed to recover his senses – once Belle had taken her seat he'd managed to close his mouth and appear as though he were an intelligent human being, but that didn't mean he was actually 'in' his mind at that moment – no, the lights were on, but there was definitely nobody at home.

His Aunt's words triggered an embarrassed response and he motioned for the musicians to begin. The noise distracted their guests and they began to dance, leaving Arthur a moment to relax and feel absolutely disgusted and sorry for himself.

Could he have looked more like an idiot?

Belle merely fidgeted. She felt like an exhibit with so many eyes upon her and she'd heard whispers of enquiry and curiosity ripple through the crowds as she'd entered the ballroom.

She knew she should find pleasure and pride in the fact that this ball was being held for _her_. It was all in her name and yet she felt as though she were on trial.

"My Lady, you look beautiful, may I have the honour of a dance?" Belle blushed, Arthur turned his head away to hide his scowl, but he still listened in intently.

Belle was shy, the young gentleman asking her to dance was handsome, but even despite that, even despite being asked was enough to make her feel flattered, she looked to Arthur for approval. Seeing his head turned away and no wishing to appear rude she replied, "It would be an honour, Sir."

Arthur clenched his fists on the arms of the throne as he watched Belle take to the floor. How dare that, that idiot of a _boy_ ask her to dance! Did he not hear the announcer? Belle was the King's ward... his ward.

He frowned to himself... his ward, his friend, or simply _his_?

What annoyed him even more though was that Belle was smiling. She looked so happy, a little self-conscious perhaps, but still content. Why did that anger him so? She was dancing with a young man that seemed quite proud and happy with himself and it made Arthur's blood boil. Why was she dancing with him when she should be dancing with Arthur?

'_Because you didn't ask her, you idiot.'_ Said a little voice in his head. Arthur scowled. Fine. He'd ask her at some point... when there weren't so many people around her...

Belle appeared as though she was having the time of her life and the reason for that was because she was. She laughed and smiled, was asked questions of that she felt fully capable of answering thanks to her lessons with Professor Stonebridge and she was confident in the knowledge that she'd conveyed herself as an intelligent young woman and a good listener. She'd been asked to dance multiple times, there was the young man who'd asked her first who she discovered was to inherit some large manor house somewhere in the South whose name was Joseph Fairfax. Belle had decided he was nice, charming in his manner but uninterested in some of the things she found the most pleasure in and whilst he seemed truly interested in her point of view he didn't seem to take much notice of it.

She felt somewhat protected from the scrutiny of her former classmates by the constant presence of people wishing to introduce themselves to her. Occasionally there were glares and sneers from girls and boys alike and a blonde girl who was a few inches taller than her (and Belle decided that the girl was more beautiful than she herself could ever hope to be) seemed to take particular pleasure in sending Belle evil looks whenever she could.

After being introduced to a group of young women from a Western region that were of importance, Belle found herself being asked to dance by another young man, this time one that she felt an instant disdain for, but due to the rules of politeness Madame Fellcourt had instilled within her, she felt obliged to accept. She felt as though she recognised the young man and it was only a few moments into the dance that she realised why.

"My Lady, I am Lancelot, I went to Worcestershire Academy, as you did."

"Weren't you Captain of the Jousting team?" Belle asked as the dance began. Lancelot's chest puffed out with pride and Belle had to hide her look of aversion.

"Yes. I take it you saw me in action?"

Belle, feeling bold in light of her growing confidence and her former disdain only being cemented into a dislike due to a memory that had surfaced replied rather coldly with,

"Yes. I saw how you treated a dear friend of mine away from the arena... I believe you bruised three of his ribs, which I daresay is the sort of gentlemanly behaviour that I find abhorrent." Belle then had the task of keeping her smug triumph schooled into a calm aura of pleasantness as she watched Lancelot try to grapple with the large words she'd used and the dance steps. He may have been a find horseman and a supposed hit with the ladies, but Belle found him laughable and cruel.

Arthur, without the advantage of a suitable distance for hearing what was passing between Belle and Lancelot (who he now mentally branded his arch-nemesis) felt pained and tortured as he watched the pair dance. He'd long ago left the throne and the accompanying stares for the relative sanctuary of the refreshments table and the comforting close proximity of the window drapes that offered some sort of semblance of a comfort blanket. Did Belle not know the suffering Lancelot had inflicted on him? It was possible; after all, he had no idea of her existence until that fateful day in the library just a few months prior.

"You look well, Arthur."

Arthur was pulled from his thoughts by a pretty face... A pretty face he once thought he loved.

"Not 'totally ew-eth' then, Guinevere?" Arthur asked shortly. The girl pouted a little.

"Well a girl's allowed to change her mind, isn't she?"

"Only if they want to be fickle." Arthur glowered, watching Belle with the same intensity that an alpha wolf would it's pack's prey. Guinevere intervened by turning his face towards her.

"You're much more attractive when you prove you have a backbone Arthur."

And then she kissed him.

Arthur didn't know what the hell was happening as Guinevere's lips locked with his. All he knew was that Belle was not the one kissing him, that he wished she was and that he was furious and hurt that she had hardly spoken to him tonight... she had danced with Lancelot. He felt his jealousy bubble and squirm and he kissed Guinevere back, knowing that the girl was smiling into the gesture with an air of smugness.

"Artie?"

Even with the hubbub of the room, Arthur caught the quiet, mouse like query and instantly drew back from Guinevere. Belle stood clutching an empty wine glass which she promptly placed on the outstretched refreshments table between them for fear of dropping it. Her hands were shaking and she felt physically sick. Guinevere smiled superiorly and failed miserably as she tried to appear bashful and coy, curtseying to the pair and thanking Arthur before slipping back to her gaggle of friends.

Belle stared at Arthur, hurt and confused. Arthur returned her look with a startled grimace. Belle's brow furrowed as she closed her eyes. Arthur saw a tear roll down her cheek as she darted away. He had to dash around the refreshments table in order to chase after her.

"Belle! Belle, wait!"

"I have nothing to say to you!" Belle called back down the corridor over her shoulder as she began to run up the stairs. Arthur saw her trip in her haste and moved to help her but she snatched her arm angrily away from him.

"Belle, please-"

"Oh go kiss _her_ some more!" Belle snapped. Arthur glared at her as fiercely as she glared at him, his heart angered by his jealousy as much as it was softened by her tears.

"Maybe I will, you probably only want to fawn all over Lance again!"

"Me? Fawning of Lance, is that what you think?" Belle asked incredulously, gripping onto the ornate balustrade of the staircase. Arthur glowered as he folded his arms sulkily.

"Well you were the one dancing with him."

"And telling him what a pig I think he is for hurting _you_."

Arthur's mouth clamped shut even as his eyes widened some with disbelief.

"And to think, I thought you were different from all them. I truly thought you..." Belle trailed off as she blushed a little and Arthur found himself wondering what she was going to say. Belle finally continued in a quiet tone and Arthur wished she hadn't had a cause to, "You have hurt me more than any of them ever could."

She darted up the stairs to her bedroom and Arthur was left standing on the stairs, shell shocked and alone.

**Too melodramatic? Let me know what you think guys and thank you ever so much for reading, it really means a lot.**


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